A bill in the Irish Dáil would ban the use of credit cards to gamble online or in person. The legislation is aimed at making sure problem gamblers don’t spend money they don’t have.
Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould indicated the national lottery has moved to bring up such a ban. Even bookmakers have brought forward optional bans in certain situations. Gould didn’t care for them, according to the Irish Times.
“The problem with optional bans is that they can be withdrawn as easily as they can be introduced,” he said. “If bookmakers are losing money or customers due to these bans, then where does that leave vulnerable people.”
Under terms of the bill, failure to comply could cost the operator a license. Estimates indicate 55,000 people are affected by problem gambling while “many more are at risk.”
Fine Gael Senator Joe O’Reilly said charities have reported a 46 percent increase during Covid of people with gambling difficulties, especially playing online.
“There is a move towards using smart phones and PCs and very ominously, smart phones are now very much part of the gambling mix,” he said. When sports were off during the pandemic “poker games online became a big issue”.
